SSD upgrade pricing depends on the capacity and type of drive (SATA or NVMe). All our prices include professional installation, full data migration from your existing drive, and performance testing. We use premium brands like Samsung, Crucial, and Western Digital with up to 5-year manufacturer warranties. Contact us for a quote tailored to your specific system and storage needs.

Absolutely. An SSD upgrade is the single most impactful upgrade you can make to an old laptop. If your laptop is running slowly with a mechanical hard drive, switching to an SSD will reduce boot times from 2-3 minutes down to 10-15 seconds, make applications open almost instantly, and eliminate the constant "thinking" pauses you experience during everyday use. We regularly upgrade laptops that are 7-10 years old and the difference is dramatic. Many customers tell us it feels like a brand-new computer. Combined with a RAM upgrade, which we offer as a bundle service, even a decade-old laptop can handle modern web browsing, Office work, and streaming with ease.

The time required for an SSD upgrade depends on the amount of data being migrated and the type of drive being installed. The physical installation is straightforward, but the data migration process, where we clone your existing hard drive onto the new SSD, takes longer depending on how much data you have. We recommend dropping off your device as early as possible for the quickest turnaround. If you are using our mail-in service, we aim to complete the upgrade and return your device promptly including postage time.

No. Our SSD upgrade service includes full data migration. We clone your entire existing drive to the new SSD, which means your operating system, all installed programs, personal files, photos, documents, desktop layout, and settings are transferred exactly as they are. When you get your computer back, everything looks and works identically, just dramatically faster. We also keep a backup of your data until you confirm everything is working correctly.

SATA SSDs use the older SATA interface with maximum speeds of around 550 MB/s read and 520 MB/s write. They come in a 2.5-inch form factor and are compatible with virtually any laptop or desktop. NVMe SSDs use the PCIe interface via an M.2 connector and offer significantly faster speeds: up to 3,500 MB/s for Gen 3 and 7,000 MB/s for Gen 4. NVMe drives are smaller, use less power, and deliver much better random I/O performance. The choice depends on your system compatibility. If your laptop or PC has an M.2 slot, we recommend NVMe. If it only has a 2.5-inch SATA bay, a SATA SSD still delivers a massive speed improvement over a hard drive.

It depends on the MacBook model. MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models from 2013 to 2017 use proprietary Apple SSDs that can be upgraded with compatible third-party NVMe drives using an adapter. MacBook Pro models from 2016-2017 with Touch Bar use a soldered SSD that cannot be replaced. All MacBooks from 2018 onwards, including M1, M2, M3, and M4 models, have the SSD soldered directly to the logic board and cannot be upgraded. For eligible models, we offer MacBook SSD upgrades. If your MacBook cannot have its SSD replaced, we can advise on alternative solutions such as external NVMe enclosures. Visit our Apple services page for more details.

No, you do not need to reinstall Windows. Our data migration process clones your entire existing drive to the new SSD, including your Windows installation, all drivers, installed software, and activation status. Windows will boot from the new SSD exactly as it did from your old drive. In some cases, we may recommend a fresh Windows installation if your existing installation is heavily fragmented, corrupted, or has accumulated significant bloatware over time. A clean installation on a new SSD provides the best possible performance, but this is entirely your choice and we will discuss the options with you.

The speed improvement depends on your current drive and the type of SSD installed. Upgrading from a mechanical hard drive to a SATA SSD, you can expect boot times to drop from 2-3 minutes to around 15 seconds, applications to open 5-10 times faster, and file transfers to increase from 80-120 MB/s to 550 MB/s. Upgrading to an NVMe SSD increases these numbers further: boot times under 10 seconds, sequential read speeds up to 7,000 MB/s with Gen 4, and dramatically improved random I/O for multitasking. In our benchmark testing, customers see an average 85-90% improvement in overall system responsiveness.

Yes, and we strongly recommend it. An SSD plus RAM upgrade together is the most cost-effective way to revive a slow computer. While the SSD eliminates storage bottlenecks, additional RAM allows your system to handle more applications simultaneously without slowing down. We offer a discounted bundle price when you combine SSD and RAM upgrades in a single service. Visit our RAM upgrade page for pricing and details, or book a combined upgrade and we will assess your system to recommend the optimal combination for your needs and budget.

For most users, 512GB provides a good balance of storage space and cost. This is enough for Windows, all your applications, a reasonable photo collection, and some games. If you are a gamer with a large library, or you work with video and large media files, we recommend 1TB or 2TB. For users on a tight budget who primarily browse the web and use Office applications, 256GB is sufficient if you store larger files on an external drive or cloud storage. During our assessment, we check your current drive usage and recommend the right capacity for your needs.

Yes, we are based in Bournemouth and offer same-day SSD upgrade services. You can drop off your laptop or PC at our workshop and collect it the same day. We also serve customers in Poole, Christchurch, Wimborne, Ferndown, Ringwood, Boscombe, Southbourne, Westbourne, and across Dorset. For customers further afield, we offer a UK-wide mail-in SSD upgrade service. Simply post your device to us using our prepaid shipping label, and we will upgrade it and return it within 2-3 working days.